Melvin Riddick

| June 16, 2011 - 7:53am

Melvin Eugene Riddick, the treasurer of Calvary Baptist Church in East Hampton from 1979 to 1994, died in North Carolina on April 19. A service at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Harrellsville, N.C., was held on April 23 to honor Mr. Riddick, who was the church treasurer there from 1995 to 2008.
Mr. Riddick was born in Colerain, N.C., on Sept. 2, 1935, the son of Della and James Riddick. After graduating from high school, he joined the Air Force, serving from 1957 to 1961. After he was honorably discharged he moved to Montauk, where he worked for the Civil Service until 1970. From then until his retirement in 1994, Mr. Riddick worked for the Federal Aviation Administration as an electrical engineer at MacArthur Airport in Islip, ending his career with four years as a highly respected supervisor.
Mr. Riddick and his wife, Beulah Mae Riddick, preferred life in East Hampton to a move to Islip and stayed here to raise their children, Melvin Lorrone Riddick and Angela Renee Riddick, who survive. According to a pamphlet from his funeral service, “Melvin was known in East Hampton as the community barber, the yearly tax preparer, the neighborhood mechanic, the part-time carpenter/handyman, the head fire pit cook of the annual church barbecue, the ‘please can your husband come over and help’ gentleman for all the elder women of the church, the transporter of those who needed a ride, and so much more.”
Mr. Riddick was a lifetime member of the N.A.A.C.P. and served as vice president of the local chapter in North Carolina, where he retired. He also was a member of the American Legion, through which he devoted time to community service.
In addition to his wife and two children, he is survived by two grandchildren and a number of nieces and nephews.